Survey for August commute period bike pilot received more than 7,500 responses

13 September 2012

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Bike Pilot. “A lot of passengers took the time to provide feedback through online and telephone surveys. We’ve received more than 7,500 responses,” said Angela Borchardt of BART’s Marketing and Research Department. The pilot was designed to test actual conditions with bikes on board and in stations during the commute period and evaluate the experience from an operational and customer perspective.

Over the next several weeks BART and its partners will be evaluating survey and operational data to determine if it’s possible to allow bikes on trains and in stations during some or all of the commute period without negatively affecting train operations, passenger comfort or passenger safety. The pilot was planned and monitored with help from the East Bay Bike Coalition, San Francisco Bike Coalition, BART Accessibility Task Force and the BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force.

Any changes to BART’s bike policy will need to be approved by the BART Board of Directors. BART staff members are expecting to present results of the pilot to the Board at a meeting later this year.

“The pilot provided a great opportunity to study and learn how to better accommodate bikes during commute periods. We’ve discovered a number of areas where improvements can be made on the trains and in the stations to better accommodate bikes,” said Steve Beroldo, BART’s Bike Program Manager. The evaluation period will be used to define these improvements and better understand the resources needed to implement them.